On Saturday, 24 May, the action was at Southport, where the Chester Level Play Golf Croquet team of Sarah Clements, Tom Grievson, Martyn Seal and Jude Wise met Southport in the second round of the Murphy Shield, another national competition. The weather brought rain, sun, wind, and cloud in various levels of intensity along with flooded lawns, in spite of the recent prolonged period of heat and drought. Both teams fought hard and played some very good croquet yet managing to have some fun, demonstrating the camaraderie that exists in croquet whilst still maintaining a focus on the game in hand. All square at lunchtime at 2 – 2, the match continued to be tight, and ended on a “golden hoop” win for Southport, with an overall victory of 4 games to 3. Good luck to Southport in the next round of the competition.
